Stem Cells Can Regenerate the Lens in Your Eye
21st March 2016
And that’s a good thing.
Cataracts, a protein buildup that clouds the lens of the eye, is the leading cause of blindness around the world. In most cases the patient will eventually need surgery to replace the clouded lens with an artificial one, and for the 20 million people worldwide per year who get the surgery, it doesn’t always fully repair their vision—many patients still need glasses or contacts. Now researchers have designed a surgical technique that uses the body’s own stem cells to regenerate a functional lens, a less invasive procedure than the current treatment.